Europe Weighs Funding Africa's al Qaeda Fight

By

David Gauthier-Villars in Paris,

Laurence Norman in Brussels and

Drew Hinshaw in Abuja, Nigeria

Updated Nov. 14, 2012 6:12 p.m. ET

Reluctant to send its own troops, the European Union is considering using its checkbook to help West African countries wage a war against al Qaeda's Saharan franchise and other violent Islamic groups controlling large swaths of Mali, said European diplomats and other people familiar with the matter.

The EU, which has already pledged to support the proposed West African force with training, transport, and intelligence gathering, is now...